Cynthia W. Langrall
An announcement of the new JRME editor-designate, Jinfa Cai, who is professor of mathematical sciences at the University of Delaware. His term will span volumes 48–51, from 2017–2020.
Richard Kitchen and Sarabeth Berk, University of Denver
The implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics has the potential to move forward key features of standards-based reforms in mathematics that have been promoted in the United States for more than 2 decades. The authors believe that this is an especially opportune time to purposely focus on improving the mathematics education of students who have historically been denied access to a high-quality and rigorous mathematics education in the United States, specifically low-income students and students of color.
Charles Hohensee, University of Delaware
The author examined the degree to which experienced teachers are aware of the relationship between prior knowledge and new learning. Interviews with teachers revealed that they were explicitly aware of when students made connections between prior knowledge and new learning, when they applied their prior knowledge to new contexts, and when they developed their prior knowledge as a result of applying that knowledge to new contexts. However, teachers were not explicitly aware of backward-transfer effects. Results from this study have implications for future research on backward transfer, as well as for teacher professional development.
Lyn D. English, Queensland University of Technology; Jane M. Watson, University of Tasmania
The authors analyzed the development of 4th-grade students’ understanding of the transition from experimental relative frequencies of outcomes to theoretical probabilities with a focus on the foundational statistical concepts of variation and expectation. After observing the decreasing variation from the theoretical probability as the sample size increased, students developed a deeper understanding of the relationship between relative frequency of outcomes and theoretical probability as well as their respective associations with variation and expectation.
Martin A. Simon, Nicora Placa, and Arnon Avitzur, New York University
Tzur and Simon (2004) postulated 2 stages of development in learning a mathematical concept: participatory and anticipatory. The authors discuss the affordances for research of this stage distinction related to data analysis, task design, and assessment as demonstrated in a 2-year teaching experiment.
Reviewed by Trevor Warburton and Ed Buendia, University of Utah
A review of Math Education for America? Policy Networks, Big Business, and Pedagogy Wars, by Mark Wolfmeyer.
This open-ended call is soliciting manuscripts for the research department in Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School called Informing Practice.